Do something about it

Complaining is a common human behavior. Complaints serve to show that we are dissatisfied with a situation and believe that it can be changed. That’s not a bad thing. As Winston Churchill said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” So, to call for change is to call for improvement. Here at Norwich, I hear these calls for improvement every day.

Here’s the thing though: Complaining doesn’t change anything. If you just complain about something and make no effort to change it, all you are doing is worsening the problem. You’re making people aware of how you view a situation and you aren’t doing a thing about it. All that can serve to do is to drag others down to your level of dissatisfaction.
So do something about it.
If you really feel so strongly about something that you’re compelled to complain, do something to actually change it for the better. Don’t be afraid of the effort involved. The least you can do is complain to the right people and hope that they do the hard work for you, or you could make a suggestion, turning your complaint into a possible course of action for improving the situation at hand.
Get involved. At Norwich, there are tons of ways to put yourself in a position where you have the ability to change a situation. If you have a problem with the food that we are served, get out there and join the Dining Committee, they’re looking for students to get on board. If you don’t like how the Corps of Cadets is run, tell your chain of command or get yourself in a leadership position. If you have an issue with the paper, write me a letter, I’ll be happy to publish it.
And if you’re not going to do something about the situation you have a problem with, do us all a favor and keep your complaints to yourself.